Allergy Season in Full Swing

Itchy, watery eyes, sneezing and coughing.
Kim McMillan says she knows it all too well.

“Yes, I do. Coughing and mucus in the chest and stuff like that,” said McMillan.

Allergist Dr. Allen Meadows says it’s common this time of year.

“This is the usual time we begin to see pollen in Montgomery. That’s things like elm trees, cedar trees. I’m expecting that we will probably see the grass a little bit earlier than usual. Usually that comes early in March. But I’m expecting to see grass pollen before the end of the month, just kind of looking at the side of the road.”

While we may have a large yellow dusting on our cars, Dr. Meadows says it’s actually what we can’t see that is causing problems.

“They are really too big to make us feel bad. It’s the very small, almost below the range of being able to see pollens that is mixed in with it that make us feel bad,” said Meadows.

The good news is… relief is available.
In fact, Dr. Meadows says you have a lot of choices when it comes to how to treat your allergies.

“More treatments now than there have ever been before. Of course, there are antihistamine pills, which used to be prescriptions, now over the counter and very inexpensive at places like the wholesale clubs and through the mail. Some of the most effective treatments are the nose sprays and nasal steroids type sprays,” said Meadows.